It was difficult to wake up the next morning. The night before was full of quiet confessions of love followed by soft and gentle love-making as we exchanged those three words what felt like hundreds of times. We both knew that the fallout for taking the next steps would be immense, but there was no need to vocalize it. I knew Christian was hurting and he needed to be distracted more than anything. Focusing on the next step, keeping the larger goal in sight was what he needed. And I could only offer support and reminders that he was so close to getting out of the

It was over breakfast that I broke the spell. "I think we should move in on Elena."

Christian put down the paper he was reading and picked up his coffee cup. "What makes you say that?"

I sighed. "I want her out of the picture as soon as possible. Right now, there are four people blocking your attempt to leave this business. Elena, your parents, and Linc. We have to eliminate one of them soon, otherwise we're just wasting time."

Christian smirked at me. "I agree."

"I also really fucking hate the woman," I muttered before I kissed him soundly and pulled away to get dressed. "By the way, the submissive who would expose you if Elena is killed- what was her name?"

Christian frowned. "I think it's Susannah, but I can't be 100% sure."

I pursed my lips. "I need help on this Christian. Can I bring in Issac since he knows about you? What about Welch?"

"I don't like it," Christian said, getting out of bed, turning to walk into the bathroom. "I guess it's our only option."

I took that as permission and grabbed my phone. Welch picked up on the first ring.

"Hi Welch, I need you to meet me at GEH in the usual conference room in 45 minutes. Can you make sure Issac Reynolds is there too?"

"Absolutely, Miss Steele."

"Thank you," I said hanging up before retrieving a light blue dress from the small rack in the closet. I sighed and knew that Christian and I would have to try and talk about this living situation. As I thought about it more, I rushed out of the closet and into the bathroom.

"Christian!" I called, over the sound of the shower water flowing. "I'm meeting Katherine for coffee this afternoon. What's the protocol?"

Christian turned around, his hair deliciously wet and his member pointing right at me. I felt my insides clench. He smirked. "Have Taylor escort you and record the conversation."

I nodded and bit my lip before rushing out of the bathroom before I could be distracted. Once I was dressed, I found my knife and slid it into the elastic band of my stocking. I didn't know what it was, but something was telling me to bring it with me.

I drive to GEH in what seemed like a trance and rushed up to the conference room. Welch and Reynolds were already waiting for me.

"Thank you for meeting me gentlemen," I said, cutting to the chase. "We're here to discuss the Elena situation."

Issac nodded. "I've been looking over all of the records and I have a theory about the money Elena was skimming. Her salon was very successful and she didn't need the $3 million dollars for debts or any outstanding payments. Obviously it could have been greed, but she's smart. I think the money is to pay someone off for something."

I nodded. "Welch, I know you are aware of Mr. Grey's tastes in women and I need you to gather all fifteen here. Tell them it's about an interview to resume their role for Mr. Grey."

Welch nodded and began typing on his computer.

"Issac, I'm sure you've surmised a lot about Mr. Grey's past, and I think that if you assist with this, you could have your job back. But it requires extreme discretion," I said.

"Miss Steele, frankly speaking, I hate Elena. And I don't need to know the details of Mr. Grey's past, but I would like to help," he said softly.

I nodded. "Mr. Grey has been known to contract a submissive for scenes from time to time. Most were introduced to him by Elena, who happened to train them. I have a feeling that they do not know about her foray into pedophilia, and we need to use that to convince one of the women that Welch is rounding up to not expose him."

Issac nodded. "So maybe the money she was skimming is to pay one of them to expose Mr. Grey."

I gave him a small smile too. "I think so too. I wish we could round them up and tie them up, but I think that would only turn them on."

Issac barked out a laugh, before slapping a hand over his mouth. "Not to mention illegal."

"Well since we're in agreement, we'll leave them in various meeting rooms. We need to pay close attention to one named Susannah. Mr. Grey indicated that she would be the one who is most likely to expose him. I also want to play close attention to Leila, his most recent submissive. She was unusually clingy and expectant according to him."

Welch nodded. "I have three on the way today, and three more coming in this evening."

My phone buzzed and I checked the message from Christian.

About to meet with C & G. Will try to convince them to put in a large order from Linc now that Elliot is talking about a new warehouse. Will send updates. Laters, baby.

I rolled my eyes. "Welch, call me when the first submissive arrives please. Issac, I expect you in the room with me."

He nodded and I left the conference room in search of Gwen.

I found her at her desk, surprisingly, and slit into my chair.

"How are you, Ana?" she asked, looking up from her computer.

"We're moving in on Elena," I said. She nodded.

"From the other side of the business?"

I nodded. "Do you want to be involved?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Only if you need me. Although, do you want me to know the big picture or keep it need to know?"

I paused. This was a different situation, but I had a feeling that Gwen knew a lot more than she let on. I'd give her broad brush strokes of the picture. "We've narrowed it down to a few candidates who would be Elena's insurance policy and Welch, Reynolds, and me are looking at financial compensation and an NDA for that. Elena's downfall will be Linc and she will never make it into prison."

Gwen nodded. "That seems to be a very good option. However, remember that sometimes things don't go according to plan and sometime money is never enough of an incentive."

I nodded as I felt my phone vibrate. "I have to go, the first interview is starting."

"Good luck, Ana! I'll be here all day if you need me," Gwen said.

I headed to the elevator and to the small meeting room Welch had indicated.

As I opened the door I took a deep breathe. This was going to be challenging. I stepped into the room and paused. The woman sitting in front of me had dark brown hair. I knew this was the case, but to really face it was something else. I walked past to the others side of the glass table and sat in between Welch and Reynolds.

"Good morning," I said taking a seat and meeting expectant brown eyes. "I'm Ana. We understand you are interesting in contracting with Mr. Grey again."

The girl across from the table nodded eagerly and I glanced at Welch's laptop. This is Elizabeth Morgan was written on the screen.

"Well, Elizabeth, we have some concerns about your connection to Elena Lincoln," I said evenly, watching her reaction.

"What concerns?" she asked very softly.

Issac opened a file and began placing pictures of Elena and him as a child on the table. I was momentarily shocked and sick to my stomach and tried to recover. Issac was extremely loyal.

Elizabeth gasped. "What?"

"Elena has been known to like underage boys," I said. "Has she ever made that known to you?"

Elizabeth was openly crying. "No, I mean, I knew she was a little off, but she was my first dom and I promise that I haven't been in contact with her."

Welch nodded. The last contact between her and Elena was well over six years ago. "Well, we can confirm that Elizabeth. I have two more questions."

She wiped her eyes and nodded. "Of course.?

"Did you know any other women who were contracted to Mr. Grey after you?" I asked, wondering if they knew each other.

She nodded. "Sure, I knew Susannah, we were trained at the same time, but I was contracted first. She wanted to stay with Elena.?

I nodded. "Thank you. Are you safe right now?"

"I am, thank you for asking," she said softly. "This wasn't about a future contract was it?"

I shook my head. "I'm sorry. Someone is attempting blackmail Mr. Grey and we need to make sure it wasn't you."

She frowned. "I think we all signed an NDA along with our contracts. The consequences of breaking either one outside of the rules were too great."

I nodded in agreement and slid Elizabeth my card. "If you need anything or think of something else, please call me."

We all stood and watched as Elizabeth left shakily and headed to the elevators.

I turned to Welch. "Do you have Susannah's phone records yet?"

He sat down and sighed. "I do, but last contact was over a year ago. If they are in contact, I can't track it."

"Let's get her here," I said, frowning.

I'm back! Thank you so much for your patience and I hope you are still interested in this story!